The Air Force is on track to have its entire inventory of family housing privatized at its stateside bases in 2012, said Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz. “We are currently, if I am not mistaken, at around 47,000 privatized units and that will increase when we get done to somewhat over 52,000,” he told the House Appropriations Committee’s military construction panel in testimony. So far, satisfaction rates for USAF families residing in the privatized homes is generally higher, hovering “around the 80 percent category,” compared to “somewhere down in the 70s” for those in government-managed homes, said Schwartz. He acknowledged there “is some difference” in satisfaction levels for those in privatized units depending on the property-management firms. “Some are better than others,” he said. Service officials continue to stress to private management that “a customer-oriented focus” is “vitally important,” he told the lawmakers April 7.
The Space Development Agency says it’s on track to issue its next batch of missile warning and tracking satellite contracts this month after those awards were delayed by the Pentagon’s decision to divert funds from the agency to pay troops during this fall’s prolonged government shutdown.
